Websites in Trinidad: Quantity up but not Quality

There’s been a continuing sea of change over the last nine months. Trinidad & Tobago businesses and organizations are steadily adding new websites to the local cyberspace and it’s very heartening. It has been a healthy mixture of some going online for the first time as well as re-designs of old sites from say, circa 1990, finally getting with the program.

But for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Websites by the numbers are going up but the quality doesn’t seem to be matching pace. Let me qualify that statement with the following:

Definition of a QUALITY WEBSITE

Plain and simple, a quality website is one that WORKS. A website that’s achieving its objectives is working. That being said, one can deduce that a website designed without defined, or poorly defined objectives will fail (elementary my dear Watson). And that is absolutely true.

A ‘professional looking’ website isn’t enough

The availability of content management systems (CMS’s) like WordPress, Joomla, Drupal and others, along with great looking premium templates give a false sense of accomplishment to do-it-yourselfers and web designers alike (excluding myself of course!). They think just replacing demo information with real info using predefined layouts is all there is to it. They’re making a big mistake.

A professional looking site is only window dressing

It may get someone through the door but then what? It’s akin to the sour, dhalpurie faces you are greeted by at most stores in T&T after they entice you in from the fancy dan-dan in the window or ad in the papers. Well that may be too harsh an example but I wanted to take a jab at the store-owners guilty of allowing this…but I digress…the point is the site isn’t helpful even if it lures you in.

It’s CONTENT that CONVERTS

It’s all about information, they’re not called Content Management Systems for nothing. You go online looking for information. But it’s not just information visitors seek- they seek SOLUTIONS and answers to their questions.

Buzzwords are not content

Ever visit a site that sounds like they’re trying to hard? Many Trini sites are guilty of this. While some information is usually standard, there is a tendency towards a cookie-cutter style of writing with the appropriate buzzword added for good measure that always sounds contrived.

It’s not about buzzwords, it’s about YOUR VOICE

Your business or organization has a persona and culture that must carry across because visitors latch on to an EMOTIONAL CONNECTION. This is the single most valuable point to bear in mind. The site must SPEAK to the visitor.

POSITION YOUR WEBSITE AS THE SOLUTION

Your objectives may be many: more customers, high conversion rates, specific sales targets, number of new email subscribers and Facebook Likes, overall traffic count etc. The hook is how well you are at being the solution to their problems.

It’s not necessarily your web designer’s fault

To be fair to all web designers in T&T, including myself, the blame doesn’t always fall on our doorstep BUT it does most of the time. Visitors may not be able to tell but there are some tell-tale signs that your web designer is anything but.

Signs of poor design on the design end

Here are some subtle (& obvious) signs of poor web design.

• Distorted and pixelated images- Designer used your images as is without proportionately resizing
• Bad grammar, mis-spelt words, primary school standard of writing- Designer cannot translate your verbiage into professional copy that converts
• Many blank or ‘coming soon’ pages- unfinished pages waiting for content
• Cheap looking graphics- looks like if designed in Mircosoft Publisher or Word
• Content featuring only plain lists

Signs of good web design

Here are some signs of good web design

• A killer Homepage
• Use of quality company images, judicious use of stock images and great graphic design
• Quality copywriting that speaks from the heart
• All pages complete with helpful content on sidebars
• Content up to date, well laid out and ready to convert
• Easy navigation and good calls to action

Who’s to blame for your crappy website in this day and age

Blame your web designer

I always maintain that this web design thing is both a science and an art. It’s what makes the difference between good web design and great web design. Again to be fair, it may not always be the web designer’s fault, but when it is, it’s because:

• He may have good technical skills but poor or average creative skills
• He may have only general knowledge but enough tactical knowledge/skill. e.g. online marketing, SEO
• He doesn’t know how to glean the info from you or get you thinking about positioning the website
• He’s concerned more about finishing the site and moving on than making it work for you
• He views you as a number and not a partner

Blame your darn self

Sometimes the reason is staring you in the face— especially when you look in the mirror, because:

• You don’t organize your content, images, objectives, selling points and other info
• You want to pay $1,500 TT for a Datsun website, you expect a Rolls Royce?
• You don’t provide enough information/content and hope for a site by some miracle
• You fail to upkeep/maintain (or pay for it to be done) so your site withers and dies
• You lack the BELIEF that your website can actually work and convert, which pretty much sums up where it’s eventually going to be

Conclusion

So far it’s been a busy, busy year for websites and that’s the way it’s going to continue for definitely the next few years. I expect that the overall quality is going to improve though.

When it does, your website will have to go up against other solid ones so let theirs be monkeys while yours is King Kong— else you won’t stand a chance.

Any web designer in Trinidad & Tobago can give you a website that looks full with content and pages, no problem. Not every web designer can give you one that WORKS.